Radprofi Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) narrowly missed his first win of the season in the sixth stage of the Giro d’Italia. The 29-year-old from Kandel finished third in the mass sprint of the 162-kilometer, demanding section that started and finished in Naples. The stage win went to Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) ahead of Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious).
“I want to win my stage here at the Giro,” said Ackermann after the race at Eurosport: “I’ll keep fighting.” The breakaway duo Alessandro de March and Simon Clarke, who were able to break away in the hilly middle section, was only around 300 meters overtaken before the finish by the almost 100 riders in the main field.
Evenepoel with “pain in the back”
Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) from Norway successfully defended the pink jersey of the overall leader, and German hope Lennard Kämna (Bora-hansgrohe) was also in the peloton. Marius Mayrhofer (Team DSM) rounded off a strong German result in eighth place.
World champion and top favorite Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) finished 41st, 28 seconds behind Leknessund in the overall standings. After his two falls the day before, the 23-year-old got on his bike despite “some pain in his back” and “some big bruises”. According to the team doctor, the Belgian has a muscle hematoma and an injury to the sacrum.
“I have a big black spot on my back made up of blood,” Evenepoel said. The former Belgian youth national soccer player juggled the ball easily before the start of the race. Despite the pain, he feels “pretty good, I’m satisfied with the feeling.”
On Friday the drivers will face an impressive backdrop and with more than 4000 meters of altitude difference they will have a lot of work to do. The seventh stage, 218 kilometers long, starts in Capua and ends with the mountain finish on the Campo Imperatore high plateau. The final ascent is 26.5 kilometers long, but only gets really steep in the last part.
